Saint-Saёns C. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and piano

Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835 and died in Algiers in 1921. Between those two dates a brilliant life of a genius has occured. Already at the age of 2 he was found to possess a perfect pitch. He read and wrote by the age of 36 his first composition for piano is dated 4, first public performance at 5 (accompanying Beethoven's sonata). At 7 he possessed some master knowledge of Latin. At 10 he gave his first recital, where he offered to play any of 32 Beethoven's Sonatas from memory as an encore. This concert was even mentioned in American mass media.

Saint-Saëns began his musical career as a musical pioneer, introducing to France the symphonic poem and championing the radical works of Liszt and Wagner at a time when Bach and Mozart were the norms. By the dawn of the 20th century, Saint-Saens was an ultra-conservative, fighting the influence of Debussy and Richard Strauss. This is hardly surprising—Saint-Saens's career began while Chopin and Mendelssohn were in their prime, and ended at the commencement of the Jazz Age.

As a composer, Saint-Saëns was often criticized for his refusal to embrace romanticism and at the same time, rather paradoxically, for his adherence to the conventions of 19th-century musical language. He is remembered chiefly for works such as The Carnival of the Animals, which was not published in full until after his death – reportedly because Saint-Saens feared it would affect his reputation as a serious composer; the Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso for violin and orchestra, the operas Samson and Delilah and Henry VIII (of which only the first is frequently performed today), the Symphony No. 3; the second, fourth and fifth piano concertos; the third violin concerto; the first cello concerto; and the first violin sonata.

The Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor Op. 28, is a composition for violin and orchestra written in 1863 for the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate. Since its 19th-century premiere, it has continued to be one of Saint-Saens's most popular compositions. His masterly use of violine makes this work a showcase piece for both instrument and performer.